A beaming smile spreads across her face before she even dismounts.
Under the spotlight at the NCAA finals, while the crowd erupts like the crescendo of a symphony, for Helen Hu there is silence. It’s just “me and the beam,” she said. The energy keeps building as she aces each skill, poised and partying on the balance beam—just four inches wide. Hu wins a national individual title, advances her team to the finals, and etches her legacy in gymnastics history.
Not only does Hu, a 2019 Latin graduate, execute each move with excellence; she adds personality, zest, and risk to her performance. She grinned while performing a complex series where she holds her leg up and rolls backward into a handstand trick. (There’s no added score value for this series, but there is a possibility of a deduction if she makes a mistake.) “I do them because I like the unique artistry it adds,” Hu said. “I always break into a big smile because my focus is to have fun. I celebrate every routine.” After her routine she hit the worm, a full body repeating wave on the ground, aiming to match the energy of her teammates and their unique victory dances.
Both Hu’s camaraderie and showmanship resonate with her teammates. After scoring a 9.9875 on the beam, the final event, it was official—the University of Missouri surpassed the University of Florida by one tenth of a point, taking them to the finals and making Hu the first Mizzou gymnast to win an individual national championship. The second she completed her routine, celebration was in order. “My teammates and coaches all hugged me and told me how proud they were of me, and how grateful they were that I came back for this season,” Hu said.
This final NCAA nationals performance was especially exciting for Hu, marking the culmination of a major comeback season. She was out with chronic pain in 2023 and spent 2024 studying abroad, thinking she had retired from gymnastics. But fate had other plans.
“I happened to be in Missouri for a friend’s wedding in June of 2024, so I stopped by the gym to say hi to the team and coaches,” she said. “Then [Head Coach] Shannon [Welker] recruited me to come back and use my last year of eligibility.”
Despite almost two years away from gymnastics, it’s been a long time coming for Hu. From the physical therapy room to bungee jumping in Singapore—she returns with strength and passion. She started training at just 5 years old and built on her dance skills during her time at Latin. “I loved taking all the different dance electives with Ms. [Upper School dance teacher Adriana] Durant,” Hu said. “Her classes always provided a space to move in a fun and creative way, and to me dance and artistry is a huge part of my beam routine.”
While Helen was at Latin, Ms. Durant taught a class called Chicago Dance, where students learned dances with silk pieces from guest artists. “Helen was definitely the star of that dance. She’s so strong and graceful,” Ms. Durant said. “Her dedication and hard work has paid off. I’m so proud of her!”
Hu’s next goals are back home in Chicago. “I am currently preparing applications to physical therapy schools in the Chicago area,” she said. “I’d love to eventually be a physical therapy specialist helping athletes with injury prevention as well as post-injury recovery and return to sport.”
Staying healthy is one of Hu’s two main pieces of advice for aspiring athletes. The other is a reflection of her driven mentality. “No one can motivate you as well as yourself. Stay hungry for more, set high goals,” Hu said. “Consistent hard work will always beat pure talent in the end.”
And of course, she does it all with a smile. “My motto for this whole year is focusing on the joy of gymnastics and having fun with my team,” Hu said. “I focused on showcasing that joy and smiled even more than I usually do because I wanted to leave everything I had in that routine.”
